More than 800 locally stranded individuals or LSIs have gone home or on their way to their respective provinces under the government’s Hatid Probinsya Program as of weekend, with another batch of 150 scheduled on June 25, officials said.
Some 115 LSIs underwent rapid testing for COVID-19 before they boarded a Philippine National Railways train before dawn Saturday – but it was not clear what provinces they were headed to, except that the coaches would be passing by the provinces of Batangas, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon.
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A report on Dobol B sa News TV, aired and heard nationwide, said all the LSIs underwent rapid testing for COVID-19 before they boarded the train at around 3 a.m. Only those who tested negative and were issued a medical clearance by the Bureau of Quarantine were allowed to board.
There would be three drop-off points for those who boarded the train: two in Camarines Sur and one in Ligao, Albay.
At the same time, more than 700 LSIs in Metro Manila were also assisted by the Office of the Vice President, in cooperation with local government units, in going back to their home provinces.
Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday said on Facebook most of the LSIs they helped stayed for weeks in temporary shelters like the Baclaran Church.
The LSIs – each required to present a medical certificate and authorization from the LGU of their home province and a thermal temperature check on boarding the buses – eventually left for Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Masbate.
Robredo said 584 LSIs were able to go home to Albay the other day.
The LSIs were also given hot meals and other food, Robredo said.
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The vice president thanked Baclaran Church and the local government units for their assistance to bring home the LSIs.
The LSIs were among those stranded in Metro Manila when Luzon was placed under enhanced community quarantine in mid-March as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Food was also provided by the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President.
Officials said all LSIs would undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival in their home provinces.
Many individuals were stranded in Metro Manila after the government placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine in mid-March as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration on Saturday assured passengers using the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) that the facility was safe amid the influx of returning overseas Filipino workers who pass through the terminal.
In an interview with Teleradyo, beamed nationwide, OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said all OFWs who use the transport terminal tested negative for the coronavirus.
Cacdac added these OFWs had completed their quarantine period and had undergone RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests — considered the “gold standard” in screening patients for the highly contagious disease.
“Our OFWs tested negative in the PCR tests. The 55,000 OFWs who have returned to their provinces were also swab-tested,” Cacdac said in the interview.
Cacdac’s comment followed concerns of an infection spread at the terminal, as some repatriates were reported to have tested positive for COVID-19.
Based on OWWA data, some 55,000 repatriated OFWS have returned to their provinces, and about 2,500 are staying in OWWA or hotel quarantine facilities to wait out the obligatory 14-day quarantine.
Buses transporting OFWs to provinces are placed on a higher floor at the PITX, while buses transporting local passengers are located at the ground floor, Cacdac said. With PNA